LOCATION PROFILE

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(503) 248-2900

115 NW 5th Ave.

Neighborhood: Old Town/Chinatown

Old Town-Chinatown achieves a balance rare in Portland neighborhoods, retaining elements from bygone Portland but mixing in stylish, modern amenities. (read more) Some of the city’s best walking blocks are here. An afternoon stroll is always an excuse for the dumplings and delicacies of dim sum at Fong Chong (301 NW 4th Ave., 228-6868). Later, stop in for retro video games at Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St., 796-9364, groundkontrol.com), which recently hosted a pinball tournament attended by former NBA center Todd MacCulloch. At the ’hood’s eastern edge, near the waterfront, the Oregon Maritime Museum (115 SW Ash St., 224-7724, oregonmaritimemuseum.org)—so legit it’s actually inside a steam-powered sternwheeler—offers local shipyard history and the chance for kids to (almost) discover what it’s like to be out at sea. The White Stag building (70 NW Couch St.), built in 1907 and former home to Norcrest China Co. and the White Stag sportswear line, has been gutted and taken over by the University of Oregon. One of the few sites in the country that is both LEED certified and on the National Register of Historic Places, it now hosts journalism and architecture classes. If all the walking tires you out, hop on one of the PDX Pedicab tours that start in Old Town ($15, 733-4222, pdxpedicab.com). —Michael Mannheimer

Also in Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood:

Embers Stage
Wilf's Restaurant and Bar Stage
Goldsmith Performance Lab Stage
Brody Theater Stage
Oregon Casket Building Stage
Valentine's Live Music
Amazon Cafe CLOSED Live Music
Backspace Live Music
Barracuda Live Music
Berbati's Pan Live Music
Darcelle XV Live Music
CLOSED Dirty Duck Tavern Live Music
CLOSED Food Hole Live Music
Ground Kontrol Live Music
Tube Live Music

Featured in Finder 2008

Grab a cup of Stumptown coffee and a slice of Hot Lips pizza, play pool and a classic arcade game or even Scrabble, check your email and just chill out.

Events Today

Saturday November 21

LIVE MUSIC

GIVE 2009: Brent Knopf, Jason Webley, Calvin Johnson

[THE BRIGHTEST DAY] On his debut as Ramona Falls, Menomena's Brent Knopf crafted a bedroom-pop record of the highest order. But even more striking than Intuit is a series of stripped-down videos Knopf posted online that outline his meticulous recording process. Knopf's caterwauling, shifty songs are built piece-by-piece, but usually begin with a simple acoustic guitar line and vocal melody. Tonight, to benefit Portland's homeless population, Knopf is performing solo, armed with only a guitar and his arresting voice. Get here early for K Records founder Calvin Johnson, but make sure you're nice and close for a rare version of Ramona Falls. MICHAEL MANNHEIMER. Backspace 9 pm. $15. All ages.

VISUAL ARTS

Trashed @ 35

Backspace To help celebrate WW’s 35th anniversary, we asked some of Portland’s hottest emerging and iconic artists to turn our newspaper covers into new pieces of art in their own unique styles. We got the idea from local artist Klutch (Vinyl Killers), whose “remixed” WW covers caught our eye and inspired us to invite other artists to try their hand at using, well, us, as a medium. Trashed @ 35 features Klutch’s work, as well as WW-inspired art by Brett Superstar, Dan Gilsdorf, J. Shea, Alexis Mollomo, Josh Arseneau and Chris Haberman, among others. Come meet the artists, check out their kick-ass work, and toast WW at the crusty old age of 35 at the show’s First Thursday opening. 115 NW 5th Ave., 248-2900. Opening reception 5:30 pm Thursday, Nov. 5. Closes Nov. 30.